Mailer for photographic film or other products



y 1968 G. F. WADLEIGH ETAL 3,392,907

MAILER FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC FILM OR OTHER PRODUCTS Filed May 22, 1967 FIG. 3

INVENTORS GEORGE F. WADLEIGH GERALD A. TAYLOR WARREN A. HOWE NEY UnitedStates Patent 3,392,907 MAILER FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC FILM OR OTHER PRODUCTSGeorge F. Wadleigh, Brighton, Gerald A. Taylor, Bergen,

and Warren A. Howe, Rochester, N.Y., assignors to Rochester EnvelopeCompany, Rochester, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed May 22, 1967,Ser. No. 640,171 4 Claims. (Cl. 229-73) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Amailer formed by folding two side flaps over a central panel. One flaphas a hole in it. The second flap is folded over this and adhered to thecentral panel through said hole, sealing off the lower section,providing a surface for the processors address. The bottom of the maileris folded and adhered to this lower section. The processor cuts off thislower section, forming a return mailer from the upper section, closed atits bottom by a heat-sealable band around its inside above the hole. Aclasp or other means closes the mailer at its top.

This invention relates to mailers, and more particularly to a novelenvelope or bag for mailing photographic film or other products to aprocessor, and for return of the processed film, prints or otherproducts to the customer, or original sender.

Various type mailers have heretofore been used for mailing products,such as photographic film and the like, to processors and for return ofthe processed products, for example developed film and/ or prints, tothe sender. One such style mailer comprises an envelope or bag made ofcloth with an attached tag for the addresses.

Another mailer of this type has been made of paper completely coatedinside with a layer of heat-scalable material such as polyethylene. Whenthe mailer is manufactured, approximately one third thereof isheat-sealed together to form a generally rigid portion on the outside ofwhich a blank space is provided for the address of the processor. Whenthe mailer is used in conjunction with the processing of exposed film,the purchaser inserts his or her address on the outside of the mailer inthe portion provided therefor, and seals the upper end of the mailerwith a conventional means such as a clip or adhesive. The exposed filmis then mailed or delivered to the processing station where thepreviously-sealed lower end of the mailer, which contains the address ofthe processing station, is cut away to permit removal of the contentswithout disturbing the upper end of the mailer. After the film has beendeveloped, it and/or the prints are inserted into the now-shortenedmailer, which is heat sealed to reseal it at its new bottom. Theshortened, rescaled mailer is then mailed or delivered back to thecustomer or original sender.

A cloth mailer is costly; and it has been an expensive proposition tocoat the entire inside of a paper mailer with a heat-scalable material.Moreover, with the latter type mailer, it has been necessary to subjectthe mailer to two heat sealing operations, the first of which isnecessary to seal together the confronting inside surfaces of the lowerend of the mailer prior to its being sold, and the second of which takesplace after the exposed film is developed and replaced in the shortenedmailer.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved mailer of thetype described, which is made of paper, and which is substantially lessexpensive to manufacture than prior such mailers.

Another object of this invention is to provide an im- 'ice proved mailerof this type, which will obviate performing thereon two diiferntheat-sealing operationsl Other objects of the invention will be apparenthereinafter from the specification and from recital of the appendedclaims, particularly when read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawing.

Summary of the invention The novel mailer illustrated herein is madefrom an elongate, generally rectangular blank or tube of paper which hasone or more parallel fold lines that divide the blank into threepanels-Le, a center panel bounded by two side panels. On its inside oneof the side panels is coated near its free marginal edge with a narrowband of adhesive. The other side panel has a hole therethrough locatedin the lower portion of this panel. On its inside the blank is coatedwith a narrow band of heat-scalable material, which extends transverselyacross the blank just above the hole in said other side panel.

In use, the side panels are folded in overlapping relation over thecenter panel, with the adhesive coated margin of the first-named sidepanel positioned over and in registry with the hole in the second-namedside panel to seal the side panels to one another, and to the centralpanel at a point located beneath the strip of heat-scalable material,and slightly above the lower end of the mailer. This forms a relativelyrigid surface in the lower section of the mailer for writing thereon theaddress of the processor. The lower section of the mailer may be closedin any suitable manner as by folding the bot-tom thereof over and gluingit to its overlapping side and central panels.

When the exposed film or other product in the mailer arrives at theprocessing station, the lower section of the mailer is cut away justbeneath the strip of heat-scalable material, which thereafter is heatedto seal the lower end of the now-shortened mailer; and the developedfilm, prints, or other products are mailed in the shortened mailer backto the customer or original sender.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 illustrates a paper blank, adapted to be folded to form a mailerin accordance with one embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view of a mailer made from this blank; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 3-3 in FIG. 2looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawing by numerals of reference, 10 denotes anelongate, generally rectangular paper blank having opposed, parallelside edges 12 and 13, and divided into a central panel 14, and two sidepanels 16 and 18. The panels 14 and 16 are separated by three,relatively closely spaced, longitudinally extending fold lines 20, 21and 22, parallel to the side edge 12 and forming an expansible bellowsportion. Panel 14 is separated at its opposite side from the panel 18 bya plurality of similar fold lines 23, 24 and 25, which extendlongitudinally of the blank parallel to the side edge 13 and form anexpansible bellows portion at the opposite side of the central panel.

Spaced above its lower edge, the panel 18 has therethrough a circularhole 27. The other side panel 16 is coated on its inside along itsmarginal edge with a strip 29 of adhesive. On its inside, also, theblank 10 is coated with a narrow transverse band 31 of heat-scalablematerial, which extends completely across the blank just above the hole27. A second transverse band 32 of heatsealable material may also becoated on the inside of the blank adjacnt the upper end thereof.

The mailer 35 is formed by folding the side panel 18 about its foldlines 23, 24 and 25 over the central panel 14, and then folding panel 16about its fold lines 20, 21

and 22 into overlapping relation with the already folded panel 18, sothat a portion of the adhesive strip 29 on panel 16 overlies, and isdisposed in registry with, the hole 27 in the panel 18. Panel 16 is thensecured to the panel 18 by adhesive strip 29, with the portion of thisadhesive strip, that registers with the hole 27, engaging the centralpanel 14 through the hole 27 so that the side panels are secured to thecentral panel as illustrated in FIG. 3. The bottom of the mailer 35 issealed by folding the lower end 38 of blank upwardly over its sidepanels beneath the hole 27, and by adhering this portion 38 in place.

A conventional metal clip or clasp 39 of the type having opposed,bendable arms 41, is then secured to overlapping portions of the panels16 and 18, adjacent the upper ends thereof. The projections 41 on theclasp 39 are adapted to cooperate in conventional manner With a hole 42formed through the registering portions of the three panels 14, 16 and18 above the clasp 39 to close the upper end of the mailer, when theupper end thereof is folded over, as will be apparent to one skilled inthe art.

Below the band 31, on the outside of the lower portion of the centralpanel, space is provided for the address of the processor to whom theexposed film or other product is to be mailed or delivered. Above theband 31 on the outside of panel 16, space is provided for the address ofthe customer or original sender to whom the developed film, prints, orother products are to be returned.

In use, an empty mailer 35, and a product such as film or the like,which must be processed after use, may be inserted by the manufacturerin the same carton; or the mailer may be sold or otherwise distributedindependently of the product. When a product, such as roll of exposedfilm, is ready to be developed, or otherwise processed, it is placed inthe top section of the mailer, which is then closed in a conventionalmanner by clasp 39. The film is thus lodged beneath the closed, upperend of the mailer 35, and the point where the panels 14 and 16 aresecured to one another through the opening 27. The sender then placesthe address of the processor on the mailer, and his or her returnaddress, and mails or otherwise delivers it to the processor.

When it arrives the processor cuts off the lower end of the mailer justabove the hole 27, and adjacent the lower edge of the band 31, so thatthe film or other product may drop out of the mailer. This also removed,of course, the portion carrying the address of the processor. After thefilm or other product has been processed, it is inserted into thenow-shortened mailer, the ends thereof are closed by heating the band31, and, if desired, the band 32, or by refolding the mailer at its topand closing it there with clasp 39.. The developed film or other productis now mailed or otherwise returned to the customer or original senderwhose address is on the exterior of the panel 16 above the band 31.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the novel mailer disclosedherein is not only extremely simple to manufacture, but it is also farmore economical than prior paper mailers. Instead of coating the entireinterior of the mailer with a heat-sealable material, mailer 35 utilizesonly a single heat-scalable band 31 for sealing the lower end of theshortened mailer. Moreover, by employing convention-a1 adhesive 29 forsealing the panels 16 and 18 to one another, and for sealing side flap16 to panel 14 at hole 27, :one of the two heat sealing steps heretoforenecessary has been eliminated, but the relatively rigid writing surfaceat the lower end of the mailer is nevertheless retained.

With the improved construction of this invention, it will be understoodthat a band or bands of pressure sensi tive adhesive may be used, ifdesired, instead of one or both heat-scalable bands. Moreover, althoughthe mailer 35 has been described as being manufactured from a fiat,folda-ble blank, it will be apparent that it may be made also from atubular blank having on its inside surface the bands 31 and 32, andhaving diametrally opposite sides thereof secured together as at 27beneath band 31.

While the invention has been described in connection with a specificembodiment thereof, then it will be understood that it is capable offurther modification, and this application is intended to cover anyvariations, uses, or adaptations of the invention and including suchdepartures from the present disclosure as come within known or customarypractice in the art to which the invention pertains and as may beapplied to the essential features hereinbefore set forth, and as fallwithin the scope of the invention or the limits of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is: 1. A blank foruse in manufacturing a two-way mailer, comprising:

an elongate sheet having a plurality of spaced, parallel, longitudinallyextending fold lines which divide said sheet into a central panel andtwo side panels and form expansible bellows portions at opposite sidesof said central panel, said side panels being foldable about two of saidlines into overlapping relation, with one of said side panels disposedover the other side panel and both of said side panels overlying saidcentral panel, said sheet having on one face a first strip of adhesive,which extends along the free longitudinal marginal edge of said one sidepanel, and a second strip of adhesive which extends across said one facetransversely of said side panels and said central panel,

said other side panel having a hole therethrough disposed above thelower end of said sheet but below said second strip and disposed inspaced relation to the free longitudinal side edge of said other sidepanel to lie beneath said one panel and to register with said firststrip of adhesive, when said one panel is folded over said other panel,thereby to secure said one panel to said central panel and over saidother panel through said hole. 2. A blank for use in manufacturing atwo-way mailer, comprising:

an elongate sheet having a plurality of spaced, parallel, longitudinallyextending fold lines which divide said sheet into a central panel andtwo side panels, that are foldable about said lines into overlappingrelation, one over the other, over said central panel,

said sheet having on one face a first strip of adhesive, which extendsalong the free longitudinal marginal edge of one side panel, and asecond strip of adhesive which extends across said one face transverselyof said side panels,

the other side panel having a hole therethrough disposed above the lowerend of said sheet but below said second strip to register with saidfirst strip of adhesive, when said one panel is folded over said otherpanel, thereby to secure said one panel to said central panel and oversaid other panel,

said second strip being heat scalable, and

said sheet having a third strip of adhesive on said one face parallel tosaid second strip, and adjacent the upper end of said sheet.

3. A two-Way mailer comprising:

an elongate central panel and two elongate side flaps folded over saidcentral panel and over one another, and

means for closing the upper and the lower ends of said mailer,

the inner of said side flaps having a hole therethrough and the outerside flap having adhesive on its inside face disposed to seal said outerflap to said central panel through. said hole, to form a lower severablesection of said mailer, and

said mailer having a transverse band of sealable material on the insidesof said flaps and panel, and positioned slightly above said hole,whereby the upper section of said mailer may be sealed at its bottom,after severance of the lower section of said mailer, to form a new,shortened mailer with a sealed bottom.

4. A two-Way mailer comprising:

an elongate central panel and two elongate side flaps folded over saidcentral panel and over one another, and

means for closing the upper and the lower ends of 10 said mailer,

the inner of said side flaps having a hole therethrough and the outerside flap having adhesive on its inside face disposed to seal said outerflap to said central panel through said hole, to form a lower severablesection of said mailer, and

said mailer having a transverse band of sealable material on the insidesof said flaps and panel, and positioned slightly above said hole,whereby the upper section of said mailer may be sealed at its bottom,after severance of the lower section of said mailer, to form a new,shortened mailer with a sealed bottom, and

having a second transverse band of heat-scalable material on the insideof said flaps and panel above the first-named band, and below the upperend of the mailer.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,185,767 6/1916 'Cather et a122968 1,287,804 12/1918 Weiss 229-82 X 3,278,109 10/1966 Salway 229--62X DAVID M. BOOKENEK, Primary Examiner.

